


Talk Tonight

by picassobaby



Series: Little Things [1]
Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Domestic, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-03-01 15:13:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13297536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/picassobaby/pseuds/picassobaby
Summary: Typical nights consist of endless conversations about anything and everything, continuously anticlimactic having been used to very Chanyeol humor and unexpected turns of events that watermark every memory. People like to think distinctive special days in relationships are what make it remarkable— counting days, months, and years, and hoping for decades. Maybe, it’s a thing of knowing how you best fit with a person that you eventually figure out what makes something special. In between two people who’ve found each other after years of friendship, what is special?





	Talk Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes, my feelings just eat me up and I begin writing about things that never happened and will never happen— to me, at least. Scenarios, things I imagine could be possible with and for anyone at some point in their lives.
> 
> PS: It's Chanyeol because he's my bias lol
> 
> PPS: Unedited work.

“How long do you think we’ve been dating?” she asks, in complete wonder as they’re settled in the confines of their home. Her legs crossed in a very comfortable position, on the small couch, occupying half of it while he sits across from her the same way.

He chuckles, “Is that a trick question?” Chanyeol teases, smiling at the sound of her laughter.

“No, dummy, I don’t even know the answer to that either,” she grimaces, “Sometimes, I’m a little envious of some friends who have a certain date to celebrate their relationship.”

Chanyeol puts some serious thought into her sentiment and nods, “Well, we can just decide on a date to celebrate?” He says to irk her, typical of him to always want to get a reaction and she falls right into his antics every single time. He was about to laugh when she pokes at his side, knowing so well that he’s ticklish.

“I’m kidding! I mean, we can always backtrack and try to pinpoint when exactly we turned from friends to lovers, right?” He says, emphasizing the word he knows would make her ears tingle in half shyness, half peeve. It’s not that she doesn’t like what it means, because she loves Chanyeol with every fiber of her being. It’s a quirk that he laughs about, whenever he remembers how she expressed just how much she thinks the word is too tacky to use in real life. He still finds it funny, years later.

She groans as he had expected and a slap resounds as her hand lands a smack on his thigh. He’s sure there’s going to be a hand print there later on but he doesn’t even flinch, it just sounds painful but they would never do anything to intentionally inflict pain on each other. These were habits long engraved in their relationship as best friends.

“At least we have the year down, I mean, that was 2011. Wasn’t it?” She says, now calm and back in her spot on the couch. He looks at her, “Wasn’t it 2012?”

“No, I clearly remember it was 2011. I—” She stops herself from talking further and she knows Chanyeol has already connected the dots with the way he is smiling at her.

“It was 2012, but you already had feelings for me before that so you think it’s 2011.” He says, trying not to grin about the realization, “I like what we’re doing very much, I am discovering things.”

She just puffs her cheeks up and closes her eyes as she breathes out slowly to calm her nerves. It was a mix of embarrassment and trying to be upset but she knows in her heart that she doesn’t mind having confessed that fact indirectly since it had made him happy, “It’s 2011.”

“It’s 2011.” Chanyeol agrees, “Guess, I might as well confess my side of the story. Sehun and Kyungsoo know this very well.”

She laughs and remembers all the times they’ve tried to play wing-man and she played it off as them trying to be good friends whenever she or Chanyeol had to go through some fall out or bad break up.

“But it can’t be 2011 if we weren’t really doing couple-y stuff yet back then, can it?” She says, “I was still trying to come into terms with my feelings back then and holding myself back from grabbing every chance I can to spend time with you particularly after that last girl… I mean, I had it bad, Yeol. But I wasn’t ready for any type of heartbreak if you weren’t ready to commit so soon.” He listens to her well every time she talks and it’s a tangible evidence of how much he adores her. Even if she just babbles on and on about something she’s passionate about, he’s all ears.

“I’m glad they told me to get out of the game for a while and pull myself together,” he replies. Chanyeol is now slouching, with his chin resting on his palm as his arm rests against the backrest of the couch. They look at each other to get the message across, small smiles on their lips, “I’m glad that they got me to listen ‘cause, imagine if I hadn’t put myself back together. Even if you’ve already figured it all out, I know you wouldn’t settle for anything less. It was all because of you, and then eventually I did it for myself. I did what I had to do to deserve you.”

It wasn’t heartbreak, per se, that got Chanyeol down. It was the disassociation, he hadn’t been very involved nor invested in his past partners and that made him a magnet for toxic and suffocating relationships. It was stressful. He realized their insecurities weren’t baseless, their doubts weren’t misplaced, and their questions didn’t come out of nowhere. His priorities back then revolved around graduating university and trying to get life all figured out, not relationships, which made him wonder why he got into them in the first place. He sees the pink tinge at the tips of her ears and on her cheeks but doesn’t comment on it, he just smiles covers up his own giddiness with that trademark boyish grin.

“Maybe it was 2011, before the year ended,” he adds, “We spent my birthday apart since my family decided to go on a trip to Amsterdam then. When I got back, you put up this small surprise and it was just us two. You said it was my birthday, Christmas and New Years all together since you’re flying out for the holidays too.”

“Sehun and Seulgi helped me put that together, but they left because they said that it should be just us. I didn’t understand back then why they’d think that because I’ve only ever told Kyungsoo about all things concerning you.”

Chanyeol remembers all the times Kyungsoo had been so certain when giving him advice. There was that time when he had already admitted to himself that she was more than just a best friend to her— and Kyungsoo was more than happy to tell him to go for it. Everybody else would tease him about it, to go find someone else because she’s out of his league, but there was always that bro who just laughs it off but tells him otherwise at the end of the day.

“I think, it started when we got back from the holiday trips,” she says as her thoughts process, “We started spending a lot of time going out at random, even when we had settled back in university. You’d buy me dinner or cook some meat over at a family restaurant.” There was a very fond smile on her lips as she recalled those moments. It didn’t matter that they would have company or just them, Chanyeol would automatically be at her side, taking care of her and nobody would try to break the momentum with unnecessary comments.

“I missed you a lot while you were away. We didn’t get to talk much since time zones were a thing and I don’t think your parents would appreciate if you kept looking at your phone while you were all out.” He has a very vivid memory of her parents scolding both of them for having their phones at reach at the dinner table.

She laughs with him and agrees, “Gosh, my dad hated smart phones back then. It was crazy!” Chanyeol knows exactly what she’s talking about as he had also been at the receiving end of said scolding a few times. It’s funny looking back at those times. Times when they were still only best friends who would crash at each other’s houses with no qualms. Times when, at the end of the day the other’s gone home (or when Chanyeol’s driven her home), and their parents would tease them about why they weren’t together. Those were nights that turned sleepless without messages exchanged, afraid late night conversations would make them say things they might regret in the morning.

Here they are now, openly talking about the nights they’ve kept secret from each other, those memories of when they were afraid to fall with a lot more at risk than just unrequited feelings.

“Oh! Oh my— Maybe, it was this day,” she sits up and half kneels as she leans into Chanyeol’s space. “Give me a sec, gosh why do I post so much nonsense…” She mumbles while scrolling down her Instagram page. He watches her intently, gently pulling her down to sit right next to him, bodies touching.

She taps on a photo post and shows him, “What do you think?”

He grins as she wiggles her eyebrows at him, “This might just be it— what date is that?”

The post indicates ‘January 17, 2012’. On the photo was just the two of them at an open house exhibit, one of the many she had been invited to and he had agreed to go with.

They look at each other with knowing smiles and Chanyeol laughs with her, “You haven’t been going out to get your eyebrows done,” he distractedly comments.

“Yeah, I figured I was just giving myself an extra chore so I gave it up. Didn’t really make a big difference, to be honest.” She grins and he just sits there, appreciating the fact that she’s now gaining confidence physically. He doesn’t see anything wrong with doing all these things for upkeep, some people are passionate about that, but the way she stresses out about beauty routines and all makes him wish she’d just love herself more the way she is so she stops worrying.

“Anyway, sorry, I got distracted,” he chuckles, holding back on compliments as she’s not good with handling them. He knows very well that it might ruin the mood, “This show was when you got into an argument with some pseudo-curator about a piece that looked plagiarized. He got so mad because you pointed out that he didn’t even know the original piece.”

“Let’s forget about that event and focus on why I think this was the day we really crossed the line, yeah?” she sheepishly suggests, making her boyfriend laugh lightly. She scoots in and leans against the other’s arm

Chanyeol thinks more about that night and floats the events in his head. It was quite overwhelming, he can feel the way his heart simply imploded in itself and translated through his actions.

“You were so extra that day, to be honest,” she begins, “Remember when you showed up all dapper as fuck? Everyone was looking!”

“Just thought I had to be presentable, babe. A lot of people knew who you were and it was your zone. I didn’t want to be embarrassingly under-dressed or anything like that,” Chanyeol retaliates, “Besides, I just exchanged the usual hoodie for a suit jacket, it’s not a big deal?”

“You looked hot though,” with a fond smile, she tells him about the amount of people who had their eyes on him the whole time they were there, and how she might have been a tad jealous, “You had your hair up, with your glasses on, and dark jeans? You were bound to get noticed? Specially with that height?”

“Nah, I didn’t even know what was happening,” Chanyeol denies the attention, “I just liked that I was beside you all night, and that you allowed me to hold your hand. Whether it was to help you feel secure or at least ease up on the anxiety, I would have held you closer if you’d asked.”

“Really?” The tone was playful and he knew she was just trying to get away from the bubbling giddiness in her stomach so she’s turning the teasing over to him instead.

“I was a show off, you know?” He continues his story, voice going softer, adjusting himself on the couch and slumping further so he can rest his head on her shoulder as he reaches for her hand as they snuggle up, “I had you in my arms and saw no reason to let go. I simply didn’t want to be pushed to the side for another boy you’d meet in one of those shows. I needed to be there since the time I decided I needed to make you notice me.”

She looks at him in admiration. Quiet, wallowing in the courage he’s shown to openly tell her about these feelings that brought them together all those years before. She lifts a hand up to palm his cheek, the stubble is rough against her skin but it just makes her feel the realness of the moment. That same night, she had felt a sense of security from the way he had held her hand to the way his presence was her rock. Chanyeol wasn’t the type to tolerate pretentious conversations so it must have taken a lot for him to be in that crowd for a couple of hours just to accompany her.

What took her from best friend to girlfriend was the fact that he never looked elsewhere. His eyes were always on her, seemingly afraid that she would be taken by someone else the moment he looked away. It was sad and endearing in a way. That night was a turning point, dropping their walls and letting all of their emotions shine through. She would reach for him and he was always there, willingly at her beck and call with no questions asked. And she would do the same. The night ended with uncertainties at the tips of their tongues but they didn’t talk about it yet. She thinks it was for tomorrow morning, when they’ve sorted their thoughts out and have owned up to their actions. He thinks he would combust if he didn’t tell her now. Nonetheless, dinner that evening was a less eventful affair.

She opens his fist and massages his palm in her hand, gently stroking and then softly tracing the lines after. His hand jerks a little from the ticklish touches before he clasps their hands together, placing a kiss on the back of her hand. She gives his big hand a playful squeeze to catch his attention. She smiles when she stares up at her, still slumped in the couch.

“It’s been five years,” he says, drawing circles on the skin of her hand that his thumb can reach, “Maybe we can start talking about our next step?”

She smiles and gives him a nod before catching his lips in a sweet kiss.


End file.
